At least 20 people were killed in Myanmar on Monday after another day of unrest and protests against the junta that took power six weeks ago, a local monitoring group said.
The country has been in turmoil since the military ousted civil leader Aung San Suu Kyi, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets to demand a return to democracy.
Security forces used tear gas, rubber bullets and live shots at demonstrators in nearly daily crackdowns across the country.
The Association of Assistance for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a local monitoring group that tracks arrests and deaths, said at least 20 people died in Monday’s violence.
“Casualties are increasing dramatically,” the newspaper said in a statement, adding that more than 180 people have been killed since the February 1 coup.
Although most of Monday’s deaths were anti-coup demonstrators, some were civilians who “were not even participating in the protests,” he said.
Most were killed in central Myanmar, while at least three died in the Yangon shopping center.
Yangon’s deaths included two women in their homes who were shot when security forces opened fire on the streets, according to AAPP.
AFP independently verified 11 fatalities.
Sunday marked the deadliest day since the coup so far, with AFP confirming at least 44 people killed in protests across the country.
Six districts in Yangon were placed under martial law after Sunday’s violence.
Anyone arrested there would face trial by a military court instead of civilian courts, with sentences ranging from three years of forced labor to execution.